Papakyriakou
Tim
Papakyriakou
Tim
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ArticleSea ice biogeochemistry and material transport across the frozen interface(Oceanography Society, 2011-09) Loose, Brice ; Miller, Lisa A. ; Elliott, Scott ; Papakyriakou, TimThe porous nature of sea ice not only provides a habitat for ice algae but also opens a pathway for exchanges of organic matter, nutrients, and gases with the seawater below and the atmosphere above. These constituents permeate the ice cover through air-ice gas exchange, brine drainage, seawater entrainment into the ice, and air-sea gas exchange within leads and polynyas. The central goal in sea ice biogeochemistry since the 1980s has been to discover the physical, biological, and chemical rates and pathways by which sea ice affects the distribution and storage of biogenic gases (namely CO2, O2, and dimethyl sulfide) between the ocean and the atmosphere. Historically, sea ice held the fascination of scientists for its role in the ocean heat budget, and the resulting view of sea ice as a barrier to heat and mass transport became its canonical representation. However, the recognition that sea ice contains a vibrant community of ice-tolerant organisms and strategic reserves of carbon has brought forward a more nuanced view of the "barrier" as an active participant in polar biogeochemical cycles. In this context, the organisms and their habitat of brine and salt crystals drive material fluxes into and out of the ice, regulated by liquid and gas permeability. Today, scientists who study sea ice are acutely focused on determining the flux pathways of inorganic carbon, particulate organics, climate-active gases, excess carbonate alkalinity, and ultimately, the role of all of these constituents in the climate system. Thomas and Dieckmann (2010) recently reviewed sea ice biogeochemistry, and so we do not attempt a comprehensive review here. Instead, our goal is to provide a historical perspective, along with some recent discoveries and observations to highlight the most outstanding questions and possibly useful avenues for future research.
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ArticleInorganic carbon system dynamics in landfast Arctic sea ice during the early-melt period(John Wiley & Sons, 2015-05-19) Brown, Kristina A. ; Miller, Lisa A. ; Mundy, Christopher J. ; Papakyriakou, Tim ; Francois, Roger ; Gosselin, Michel ; Carnat, Gauthier ; Swystun, Kyle ; Tortell, Philippe D.We present the results of a 6 week time series of carbonate system and stable isotope measurements investigating the effects of sea ice on air-sea CO2 exchange during the early melt period in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Our observations revealed significant changes in sea ice and sackhole brine carbonate system parameters that were associated with increasing temperatures and the buildup of chlorophyll a in bottom ice. The warming sea-ice column could be separated into distinct geochemical zones where biotic and abiotic processes exerted different influences on inorganic carbon and pCO2 distributions. In the bottom ice, biological carbon uptake maintained undersaturated pCO2 conditions throughout the time series, while pCO2 was supersaturated in the upper ice. Low CO2 permeability of the sea ice matrix and snow cover effectively impeded CO2 efflux to the atmosphere, despite a strong pCO2 gradient. Throughout the middle of the ice column, brine pCO2 decreased significantly with time and was tightly controlled by solubility, as sea ice temperature and in situ melt dilution increased. Once the influence of melt dilution was accounted for, both CaCO3 dissolution and seawater mixing were found to contribute alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon to brines, with the CaCO3 contribution driving brine pCO2 to values lower than predicted from melt-water dilution alone. This field study reveals a dynamic carbon system within the rapidly warming sea ice, prior to snow melt. We suggest that the early spring period drives the ice column toward pCO2 undersaturation, contributing to a weak atmospheric CO2 sink as the melt period advances.